Swing seat and support means



Aug. 19, 1969 P. E. ALLEN 3,462,195

SWING SEAT AND SUPPORT MEANS Filed Oct. 18, 1967 '2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR PAUL E. ALLEN ATTORNEYS Aug. 19, 1969 P, E ALLEN 3,462,195

I SWING SEAT AND SUPPORT MEANS Filed Oct. 18, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 5

FIG. 9

INVENTOR PAUL E. ALLEN ATTOR NEY'S'.

United States Patent 3,462,195 SWING SEAT AND SUPPORT MEANS Paul E. Allen, Ephrata, Pa., assignor to Woodstream Corporation, Lititz, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Oct. 18, 1967, Ser. No. 676,129

Int. Cl. A63g 9/12 US. Cl. 297-452 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a seating arrangement for play equipment such as swings which customarily form a part of playground and yard recreational equipment, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a new and improved combination of a swing seat and a support means which reinforces the seat and which serves to enable the same to be connected with suspension means such as chains, cables, or the like.

In the past, swing seats have been fabricated from such conventional materials as wood, metal and canvas, and it was discovered that such swing seats tended to weather quite poorly. Since the play equipment on which such seats were mounted ordinarily remained outdoors all year long, it was found that the deleterious effect of wind, rain, snow, sunlight and so on, soon caused a deterioration of the seats. Thus, it was found that wooden seats tended to crack and splinter, metal seats tended to rust and corrode and canvas seats tended to tear or rot. Any of these conditions caused the swing seats to have an unattractive appearance and additionally, the deterioration of swing seats fabricated of these customary materials tended to create a potentially dangerous condition for the children who used the same.

In more recent times, manufacturers have been turning to plastic materials for fabrication of swing seats. It has, however, been found that such plastic swing seats are themselves subject to certain drawbacks from the weight and forces applied thereto and also from the deleterious effects of ultraviolet rays from the sunlight. More specifically, it has been found that such plastic swing seats have a tendency to crack or otherwise deform due to the weight applied to the same and due to the constant flexing, twisting and other motive forces applied thereto as the child swings. Also, it has been found that such plastic swing seats have a tendency to deform under weight, as would be encountered if an older child or an adult sat upon such seat. Additionally, it has been found that ultraviolet rays from sunlight tend to cause these plastic seats to craze and crack. While additives to the plastics sometimes reduce this problem, such additives are not 100 percent effective, and as a result, there is always the possibility that a plastic seat could fail suddenly unless some additional reinforcing means is provided.

A separate, although somewhat related, consideration with respect to swing seats is the manner and means in which such seats are assembled or coupled to the suspension means, which, on most swings, is a chain or cable system. Most conventional attaching means are in the form of some type of bracket which is threaded to receive nuts upon a portion thereof, or alternatively, which is attached by a separate nut and bolt means to the seat itself. The chains or cables, in turn, connect with such ice brackets. However, the use of such conventional brackets on plastic swing seats presents additional problems and difficulties. As a plastic swing seat is swung back and forth, with an occupants weight thereon, there is a continuing movement and flexing of the seat and this presents particularly difficult problems when a metal bracket means is used for connection to the chains or other suspension means. Ordinarily, such a metal bracket fits through holes in the plastic swing seat and as the seat is swung back and forth, the plastic gradually tends to enlarge or deform where it contacts the metal portion of the bracket. After a time, this deformation of the plastic seats loosens the same so that there exists the problem of wiggle between the seat and the supporting brackets. If this wiggle is bad enough, it is even possible that the bracket and seat can separate, thereby creating a potential hazard which might cause the occupant to fall to the ground and sustain injury.

With the foregoing in mind, it is, therefore, an object of the present invention to overcome the difficulties and deficiencies associated with prior art forms of swing seats and support means therefor, and to provide instead, a new and improved swing seat and support means.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a combined swing seat and support means therefor wherein the support means serves to reinforce the seat while at the same time facilitating assembly thereof to a suspension means.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a combined swing seat and support means wherein the support means is formed as an integral unit and wherein no auxiliary attaching means, such as nuts or bolts, is needed to assemble the same with the swing seat.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a plastic swing seat and a metal support bar means in a combination where the metal support bar serves to reinforce the swing seat and facilitate attachment thereof to a suspension chain means or the like.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a plastic swing seat and metal support bar means in a. combination which prevents undue twisting, flexing, bending or other deformation of the seat as the same is used.

Another object of the present invention is to provide, in combination with a plastic swing seat, a metal support bar means which can be simply and easily formed as an integral unit, which can be readily assembled with the plastic swing seat without the need for any auxiliary attaching means, and which serves the dual function of reinforcing the plastic seat and of providing spaced apart portions by which the seat can be supported by means of suspension chains or the like.

Other objects, advantages and salient features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a swing seat and support means in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof taken substantially along the line 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a bottom plan view thereof;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the seat member, with the support bar means shown in dotted lines;

FIGURE 5 is a transverse sectional view thereof taken substantially along the lines 55 of FIGURES 1 and 3;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of a slightly modified form of swing seat and support means;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary sectional view of a modified end portion of the support bar means;

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of the modification shown in FIGURE 7, with the support bar means being eliminated for purposes of illustration; and,

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along the line 99 of FIGURE 8.

In general, the swing seat and support means therefor, in accordance with the principles of the present invention, includes a seat member generally designated 10 which is preferably fabricated of a suitable plastic material and a support bar means generally designated 12 which is preferably fabricated of metal.

Considering the seat member 10, it can be seen that the same is longitudinally extended to provide a generally rectangular configuration susceptible for use as a seating medium. The seat member 10 includes a top or upwardly directed surface 14 upon which a person can be seated. The surface 14 can be a continuous sheet of plastic, or, if desired, suitable apertures or openings can be formed therein. Also, although the surface 14 can be planar, it is preferred that the same is formed with a slightly arcuate or depressed configuration to provide a more comfortable seating surface.

The seat member 10 also includes a depending peripheral skirt 16 which surrounds the seat and which depends from the seating portion 14 thereof. A series of reinforcing ribs depend from the underside of the seating portion 14 and span between the opposed portions of the peripheral skirt 16. These reinforcing ribs include spaced apart longitudinally extending ribs 18 which are intersected by transversely extending reinforcing ribs 20. One suitable arrangement for such ribs can be best seen by reference to FIGURE 3 of the drawings herein. At least one of the longitudinally extending ribs 18 is disposed along the longitudinal central. axis of the seat member 10 and this central longitudinal rib is designated 18.

The particular arrangement and shape of the reinforcing ribs 18 and 20 and the peripheral skirt 16 can be varied as desired since this arrangement is merely conventional and many alternative arrangements thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art for the purpose of strengthening and rigidifying the main seating surface 14. In this regard, the skirt and reinforcing rib network is much the same as a supporting truss for a bridge, a floor, or so on, and the details thereof are regarded as conventional and do not form any part of the present invention. To complete the descriptive referencce to these ribs, however, it will be seen that the longitudinal ribs 18 and the longitudinally extending portions of the skirt 16 have the greatest depth substantially at the transverse center of the seat 10, and the same gradually converge upwardly toward the top surface 14 as they extend toward the outer ends of the seat.

The seat 10 also includes a pair of longitudinally spaced apart aperture means generally designated 22, each of these aperture means being adjacent an end of the seat and both aperture means being aligned along the longitudinal central axis of the seat. The particular shape of these aperture means 22 can best be seen by reference to FIGURE 4 wherein it will be seen that such aperture means includes a circular hole 24 having a longitudinally directed notch or slot 26 extending from each side thereof. Thus, it will be apparent that when both aperture means 22 are considered, there will be four slots or notches 26, all in alignment along the longitudinal central axis of the seat and hence in alignment with the longitudinal central rib 18' thereof.

As can be noted from FIGURES 2 and 5, in one embodiment of the invention, the depth of the central longitudinal rib 18 can be somewhat less than the depth of the other longitudinal ribs and the support bar means 12 is thus juxtaposed in abutting contact with the underside of this central longitudinal rib 18'. The support bar means 12 includes an elongated metallic bar or rod 30 having a central section and a pair of upstanding loop sections projecting through the openings or apertures 22.

The center section of the rod is designated 32 and is generally linear in configuration. As can be seen, the central longitudinal rib 18' tapers upwardly, as indicated at 34, adjacent each aperture 22 and the rod 30 has a contiguous upwardly directed portion 36 abutting thereagainst. The portions 36 of the rod merge into the upwardly extending loop portions which project through the apertures 22, and these loop portions include an upwardly directed leg 38 which merges arcuately at 40 into a downwardly directed leg 42 which terminates at a terminal end 44. Each of the legs 38 and 42 extends at least partially above the upper surface of the member 14 and all four legs are aligned along the central longitudinal axis of the seat member. The terminal end 44 of the bar 30, however, is disposed beneath the upper surface 14 of the seat. In the embodiment of FIGURES 15, the terminal end is directed outwardly, and, if desired, a notch 46 can be provided in the skirt along each side of the seat to receive such outwardly directed ends.

As will be apparent, the support bar means 12, being formed as an integral unit, can be readily attached to the preformed plastic seat merely by inserting the same from the bottom so that the loop portions project through the apertures 22 in the seat. Generally, prior to such attachment, the links of a suspension chain 50 can be inserted through the holes 22 and attached to these loop portions in the manner shown in FIGURES 1 and 5. Thereafter, the support bar means is moved upwardly and engaged with the seat. The support bar means 12, and particularly the center section thereof, thus serves to centrally reinforce the plastic seat and prevent the same from unduly flexing and bending even when weight is applied thereto. Likewise, it is apparent that all of the forces extending longitudinally between the two suspension chains 50 are directed entirely through the metallic support bar member 12. This construction is in contrast with prior art forms of constructions wherein a single metallic bracket was provided at each side of the plastic seat and hence, as between the two sides of the seat, the forces were transmitted through the plastic of the seat, rather than through any metallic member. Also, it will be understood that with the' support bar means 12 of the present invention, no auxiliary attaching devices, such as nuts, bolts, any sort of threaded member, or so on, is needed to interengage the support bar means and the plastic seat. Instead, utilizing the construction of the present invention, only two separate members need be provided,

, namely, the seat member 10 and the support bar means 12, and the particular combination of these two members serves to provide a reinforced swing seat and a support means therefor which enables the swing seat to be attached to the suspension means 50.

Considering the modified embodiment of FIGURE 6, such embodiment corresponds with the embodiment previously described, except that the central longitudinal rib 18' is not reduced in depth. This central longitudinal rib instead is configured in exactly the same manner as the other longitudinal ribs, that is, is provided with a portion of increased depth in the center which gradually decreases as it extends outwardly toward. the upwardly directed portions 34. If the central longitudinal rib 18' is configured in the manner shown in FIGURE 6, then the central portion 32 of the support bar means is likewise configured. That is, regardless of whether the central longitudinal rib 18' takes the configuration shown in FIGURE 2, or whether the same takes the configuration shown in FIGURE 6, in either instance, the center section 32 of the support bar means takes the same configuration and follows contiguously therealong.

Finally, if attention is directed to the embodiment or modification shown in FIGURES 7-9, this modification can be used where the terminal end 44 of the support bar means is to merely end at the bottom of the downwardly directed leg 42, and is not to be outwardly directed as shown in FIGURE 2. In such event, a reinforcing land can be formed along the interior of the side skirt 16. The land includes a thickened portion 52 having an upstanding, generally semicylindrical groove 54 formed therein coextensively with the outermost groove 26 of the aperture means. The groove terminates short of the bottom wall 56 of the land so that, as a result, and as shown in FIGURE 7, the downwardly directed leg 42 fits within this groove and the terminal end 44 abuts against the bottom wall 56' of the land.

After reading the foregoing detailed description, it will be apparent that the objects set forth at the outset of the specification have been successfully achieved by the present invention.

Accordingly, what is claimed is:

1. A swing seat and a support means comprising:

a longitudinally extended seat member comprising an upwardly directed surface upon which a person can be seated and a reinforcing rib structure depending from the underside of said surface;

said rib structure having rib means disposed centrally and longitudinally thereof;

said seat member surface having a pair of longitudinally spaced apart aperture means therein adjacent opposite longitudinal ends of said seat member and aligned with said rib means; and

support bar means extending longitudinally beneath said seat member surface;

said support bar means including a pair of integral upstanding loop portions, one of said loop portions projecting through each of said aperture means and projecting above said scat member surface;

said support bar means having a central portion abutting against said rib means and extending between said loop portions which serves to reinforce said seat member;

, wherein said support bar means is a continuous metal bar.

3. A swing seat and support means as defined in claim 2, wherein said rib means comprises at least one rib extending longitudinally along the center of said seat member.

4. A swing seat and support means as defined in claim 3, wherein said support bar means includes an upwardly directed leg at each end of said central portion, each of said upwardly directed legs arcuately merging into a downwardly directed leg which terminates at a terminal end.

5. A swing seat and support means as defined in claim 4, wherein at least a portion of said upwardly and downwardly directed legs extends through said aperture means and above said surface to define said loop portions and wherein said terminal ends of said downwardly directed legs are disposed beneath said surface in contact with a portion of said seat member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,088,734 5/ 1963 Grudoski 272 3,261,607 7/1966 Horowitz, ct al. 272-85 3,310,300 3/1967 Lawson 297-452 X 3,330,597 7/1967 Lay ct a1. 297-445 X CASMIR A. NUNBERG, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. gas-s5; 297-473 

